Can I Have This Orange Juice?
by Lailuh
Summary: Peter's sick and stumbles into the tower. Does a certain super soldier know how to care for a sick teen?


The world around him sounded somewhat somber and muffled. The lights and people he passed while running through the streets were nothing more than blurs. Peter had tried to call Tony, Happy, hell he even tried Bruce but his fingers wouldn't press the right numbers and whenever he tried a voice command the words got caught in his throat or came out extremely slurred. Hence why he was currently running, more so _stumbling_ his way to the tower. Everything just felt so- wrong.

He barely registered the security guard and receptionist ask if he was alright when he got there. He gave them a nod, or at least he tried to then hobbled to the elevator.

" _Good afternoon Mr. Parker. I was not aware you would be coming today."_ FRIDAY's voice seemed to boom through the elevator. _"Mr. Stark is currently in a meeting out of town and won't be finished for a while but I will inform him of your arrival. Would you like to wait in the penthouse?"_

Peter stayed silent and slumped on the wall. Everything was hurting and he felt disgustingly sweaty. FRIDAY's voice seemed to make things a bit worse.

" _I'm detecting a high fever. Dr. Banner is out with Captain Rogers at the moment but I will contact and inform them of your condition. You'll be going to the penthouse to await treatment."_

Ah. A fever might explain what was happening. He hadn't been sick in a long time. Maybe he was just blowing everything out of proportion. Though he had to hold back the urge to vomit as the elevator started ascending. It seemed like an eternity before the thing stopped and the doors opened.

Peter stumbled out catching on the door to make sure he didn't actually fall on his face. Everything up there seemed so bright all of a sudden. Was there something wrong with his senses? He stopped in a doorway to catch his breath; apparently walking twenty feet was now comparable to running a marathon.

"Peter?" He turned to the voice and saw Bucky staring at him, concern and confusion evident on his face. "You okay?"

Something about those two words made everything settle and made Peter realize how not okay he actually was. His eyes met the soldier's, tears building and threatening to fall. _"Help me…"_

He slumped to the floor with a thud.

Bucky was at his side in a heartbeat. "Talk to me kid, what's wrong?" He scanned the boy for any injuries and was satisfied when he found none, but the sheen of sweat covering his pale face didn't make for any comfort. He placed his hand on his forehead. "You're burning up."

Peter managed a soft moan. "It hurts too much. Somethings wrong..."

"Yeah, no shit." He got an arm under Peter's shoulders and carefully hoisted him up. "Come on, on to the couch you go. I'll get you an ice pack or something."

"It's burning…"

Bucky frowned as he laid him out on the couch before heading to the kitchen for ice. "I hope you've called someone. This is really the best I can do. How high is his fever?"

" _I'm detecting it at 104.6. Mr. Stark has been notified of Mr. Parker's condition. Dr. Banner and Captain Rodgers are on their way back to assess the situation."_ FRIDAY answered. _"Perhaps you should try to get more information on how or why he has become as he is."_

"I doubt he'd be able to even give me a solid answer but I'll try." Bucky headed back to the couch and placed the ice on Peter's head and a glass of water on the table. "Steve and Banner will be back any time now. Wanna try to tell me why you're here and not resting at home?"

"Not- sick." Peter's face scrunched in pain. "Was with Ned and- and it felt like… like…" His eyes fluttered shut.

"Peter." Bucky's voice was firm, almost willing- _expecting_ the kid's eyes to open right back up and give him a solid answer. They stayed closed and it only made the soldier worry. "Shit." He pulled out his phone.

" _Buck."_ Steve answered on the other end.

"How far out are you?" His eyes never left Peter, his chest rising and falling in quick succession.

" _Ten minutes, give or take. How's Pete? Even FRIDAY sounded distressed when she contacted us."_

"He has a high fever and just passed out. I have an ice pack on his head but I don't know what else to do. He tried saying something about not being sick but I'm really not inclined to believe it."

" _Try to wake him up."_ That was Bruce talking. _"It might be just a fever but given his immune system it's probably something more if it got him to pass out. Just- try to keep him cool until we get there."_

Bucky ended the call and stared at the teen in front of him. Peter looked like death warmed up; his breaths coming in quick and shallow, a coat of sweat covering his face, shivering on top of everything. It wasn't good in the slightest.

"Come on kid. You need to wake up." He gently shook the boy's shoulders. He could practically feel the heat radiating through his shirt.

Peter groaned. "Please don't… my stomach can't- handle it… _ugh_ \- it's so hot…"

"I know. Steve and Banner are on their way." He adjusted the ice pack. "Can you tell me anything about why you might be like this? Did you interact with anyone or maybe eat something bad?"

"No… I was- with Ned at his house and, uh, I just started feeling bad. Not- not in the traditional way but like-" Peter threw his hand over his mouth. Bucky took the motion in stride and quickly retrieved a trash can; Peter emptied his stomach. "S-sorry…"

"You don't need to apologize for being sick kid." Bucky handed him the water to rinse out his mouth. "If it's not _traditional_ sick then what is it?"

"I don't know. It was- sudden. My senses didn't- didn't alert me to anything. It's just… so hot, and everything hurts…"

The man frowned. "Think you'll be able to stand for a minute?" Peter thought for a moment before shaking his head, regretting it instantly. "Stay put. I'll be back in a second."

Peter's eyes shut at the man's words. _Stay put._ It was difficult to try to do anything other than lay there and focus on not vomiting again. He had a thought to laugh at the statement.

"Okay come on."

He didn't even hear Bucky return to him and tried his damnedest not to puke on the man that was carefully lifting him from the couch. He was being carried somewhere. He heard a muffled sound of running water and cracked his eyes open to see they were on the bathroom, and he was currently being lowered into the tub.

"What're y'doin?" He slurred.

"You're body temperature is too high and that little bag of ice isn't doing enough to lower it." Bucky said as he gently placed the boy down. "This should help more in the long run, at least until Banner gets here."

Peter let out a slight hiss as the cold water hit him but was eternally grateful. He let his head rest on the back of the tub, practically urging himself to go to sleep but he knew he should stay awake for Bruce. Or should he have gone to sleep? Honestly his whole head was a mess at that moment and didn't know what to think.

"How much longer FRIDAY?"

" _Captain Rodgers and Dr. Banner have just arrived and should be here momentarily."_ The AI responded. _"I have been updating him on Peter's condition."_

"You two are- t'good t'me." Peter huffed out.

Bucky let a small smile slide into his face. "Everyone deserves to have someone to look after them kid. Especially teenagers with no sense of self worth."

"Hey- I have worth; other people- are just worth more."

His smile grew. Peter was by far the most selfless person he's ever known, even more so than Steve. He wouldn't put it past the kid to take a bullet for someone.

"Buck?" Steve's voice echoed through the penthouse.

"In here." He called. The two men appeared in the doorway. "He was too hot. I didn't know what else to do."

"No, this is good." Bruce placed the back back of his hand on Peter's forehead. "How you feeling buddy?"

"I get an impromptu spa- day. I'm great." Peter cracked a small smile and shut his eyes, his head resting on the back of the tub.

"Did he tell you anything?" Steve asked quietly.

"Just that he was his friends house when he started feeling sick but not in the normal way. It was all in an instant." Bucky blew out a breath. "He collapsed in the doorway when he got here. I checked him over for any injuries but I didn't see any."

"Anything hurt Pete?" Bruce asked.

" _Everything_ isn't a good answer is it?"

"It's really not…"

"Sorry. It- it feels like a day after sparring with Cap. Everything's just- really sore." He bit his lip as a surge of pain went through his body.

"I can give you something for the pain but it won't help for very long, and you're going to need to stay in here until your core temperature goes down to a more suitable level."

"No complaints here."

Peter had stayed in the tub for a few hours, lulling in and out of a restless sleep until his temperature had dropped about five degrees. Bruce had given him something for the pain but like he said, it didn't last. He barely felt the mild relief before the pain flared up again. He didn't complain, more so he didn't have the energy to.

He briefly recognized Bruce and Steve over him saying something about moving him from the tub. He groaned as Steve lifted him from the tub, set him on the floor, and stripped him of his wet clothes before changing him into something dry. If he was more lucid he probably would've felt embarrassed about being carried.

Bruce had said something though he didn't catch the full of it; something about his room being better suited for his needs than the lab. He was grateful when he felt his bed under him instead of one of the gurneys, but the thought of a cold metal table didn't sound that bad at the moment. Everything around him seemed to darken, physically and literally as FRIDAY dimmed the lights in his room and blasted cool air on him and from his eyes shutting as exhaustion of everything finally took him.

 **AVENGERS**

It was gradual; it was a dull ache at first and had been slowly become worse as time when on. At that moment it had felt like a building had been dropped on him again. His joints had locked and his muscles were cramping at every ragged breath. Peter didn't even know if he was awake or sleep anymore. Everything was just blurred into one. He attempted to move but instantly regretted it as white hot pain shot through his body. Tears formed in his eyes and he let out a whimper.

" _Dr. Banner is on his way."_

Apparently he was awake to some degree. FRIDAY's voice, as quiet as it actually was, seemed deafening. He could hear everything; water sloshing in the pipes, air blowing through the vents, the low volume of a TV down stairs, someone coming up said stairs. Every single noise seemed amplified.

"Pete?" Bruce's voice sounded like it was through a megaphone.

"It hurts so much…" Peter's voice was barely a whisper. The tears that had formed had finally begun to slide down his face. "It's too loud-"

"It's okay buddy." Bruce brushed back the hair on Peter's forehead, making the boy whimper.

"Bruce please- please make it stop…"

It like like a slap on the ear. Peter _begging_ the man to stop the pain was heartbreaking. He'd never seen him in that much pain before, he's never really called him by his first name either.

"Okay Pete. I'll be right back." Bruce as quickly and quietly as he could left Peter's room. A scowl plastered on his face as he made his way downstairs.

"Is he alright?" Steve asked as he saw the man's face.

"No. His fever's not any better but it's not like it was before. I think there's something wrong with his senses. He's feeling too much, saying everything's too loud; I barely placed a hand on him and he _whimpered,_ Steve."

"Is there anything you can do for him?" Bucky's tone was almost pleading. None of them liked seeing Peter in such agony.

"The only thing I can think that will help at all is giving him what we give you two when you need to be knocked out. I don't know if it'll have the same effect on him or not but you all share similarities in your DNA that it should help the pain. I'm just not sure for how long."

"We still don't know what's causing this?"

"It just seems like a really bad case of the flu but…" Bruce shook his head. "I'm gonna give him a little less than what it takes for you two and see where we go from there."

 **AVENGERS**

It had all seemed like a really weird lucid dream.

Peter had woken up and stretched, his joints popping and cracking at the movement. He felt- good. Nothing hurt, he didn't feel sick, and his fever was gone. What wonders a good night sleep could do.

He hoped out of bed, standing on his wobbly legs and headed downstairs to the kitchen, not wondering or caring why his door had been open upon waking. He stifled a yawn as he lazily went down the steps. It smelt like someone was making something already. Upon entering the kitchen he saw Tony heating up some sort of left overs.

"Morning." He sleepily said as he went to the fridge.

"Peter?" Tony choked on his food.

"That's me." He pulled out the orange juice.

"What are you doing?"

He stopped. "Uh, getting orange juice? Am I not supposed to?"

"FRIDAY call the others up here now." Tony guided the boy to a stool by the island. "Sit. Don't move."

Confused was a good way to describe how he was feeling at that moment. "Can I- uh, is it okay if I drink this or-" Tony just kept on staring at him. "Okay, kinda weirding me out now."

"What are you doing out of bed?" Tony asked, more so demanding an answer.

Peter was taken aback at how firm yet concerned the man sounded. "I just- wanted something to eat. Am I in trouble Mr. Stark?"

"Tony." Bruce's voice called as the elevator opened and he, Steve, and Bucky exited. "FRIDAY said you needed-" he stopped when he caught sight of Peter. "What's going on?"

"Uh, breakfast?" Peter tried to joke but the surprised looks on the faces in front of him didn't change. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Pete. It's just- you're _up."_

"Am I supposed to be not up?"

"Yes. That's exactly what's supposed to be happening." Tony said. "You're supposed to be sleeping."

"But I was…?" His eyes darted back and forth between the two men. "Will one of you tell me what's happening?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was- sick right? I was at Ned's and we were gonna have a movie night and I just started feeling- bad. I told him I didn't feel well and then left. I, uh- I think I stumbled around for a little while before finally making it here though."

"And collapsing in the doorway upon arrival." Bucky added. "You were barely coherent when you got here and passed out the first chance you got."

Peter rubbed the back of his head. "It has been a while since I've been sick at all. Maybe that was everything catching up all at once. But I'm fine now; that was yesterday and this is today and I feel fine. Look I'm even drinking orange juice."

"Peter, you stumbled into the tower two days ago." Steve replied in a firm tone. "You've been unconscious since Thursday afternoon."

He blinked once, then twice, not believe the words he'd heard. "What?"

"You don't remember?" Bruce asked. The boy shook his head. "Your fever had gotten so high that we had to let you soak in the tub for a few hours until it lowered."

That was something he vaguely remembered but he's thought it was a very realistic dream, at least a hallucination caused by the fever. "I- didn't think that happened, I thought I was dreaming."

"Do you remember anything else?"

He did. He remembered a lot. "Uh, everything hurt. Real bad; like I was being squeezed or crushed. I didn't know…"

"You kept crying, saying that you couldn't stand it. I had to give you what I give Steve to knock him out just so you could get some decent rest but- I miss calculated the first dosage."

So? What did that mean? Peter could hear the guilt in Bruce's tone. Was that the reason he'd stayed asleep for two days? He didn't think it was that big of a deal. He definitely needed the extra sleep.

"You woke up screaming." Tony said softly. "You had been yelling about stabbing feelings all over your body and how it felt like everything was burning and you were being crushed by something. You kept thrashing around in bed; Cap and Barnes had to keep you still while Bruce gave you another sedative."

"Oh." That definitely isn't what he was expecting, nor did he remember waking up. His hand went to rub his chest. He knew the pain though; pins and needles sticking into his skin, heat radiating from his body. He'd experienced it before.

"If I had given you the right amount in the initial dosing then you would've stayed asleep and wouldn't have had to deal with that. Sorry." Bruce's voice was heavy with guilt.

"Oh, no it's okay. I- uh, don't think it would've mattered that much. I know what caused it though, at least I think I do." His eyes went to the floor. "Uh, all those symptoms are the same for when I first got my powers. Um, the pain wasn't so prominent the first time but it's all definitely the same."

The group was silent for a moment as they took in the information.

"Are you saying you had a sort of relapse?" Bucky asked.

Peter shrugged. "I guess so. I don't know why it happened though. But I feel fine! It's like nothing wrong, literally I feel good as new."

"You're really all right?" Steve asked. "Not feeling any side effects or lingering- anything?"

"Promise. Everything feels as it should. I could probably do a back flip if you'd like."

"Uh, how about letting me check you over? For our sakes if not yours." Bruce said.

Peter nodded. "Sounds good Dr. Banner but, uh, can I have this or-?"

Tony rolled his eyes as he gestured to the carton of orange juice sitting on the island. "Yes kid. You can have it."

 **There we are, short and sweet. I dunno I just have it in my head that if you get bit by a radioactive spider, you're gonna have a relapse of the first symptoms at some point. Also I'm a sucker for being sick and collapsing so this is an excuse to write it.**

 **Please point out any grammatical o spelling errors I might have missed so I can fix them in the future! Leave a review so I may be inspired to finish my other stories! Writers need a will to live! And if you lovely people would be so kind as to tell me what you're reading on; ie phone, mobile device, or computer. No real reason except I'm curious.**

 **Hope ya liked it! See ya in the next one!**


End file.
